Night Out
by YetAnotherCatgirl
Summary: Modern AU. On a girls' night out excursion to find Sano a job, Kaoru meets Aoshi's very persistent wingman, Kenshin. KK AM SM
1. Sano needs a job

A disclaimer, in the tradition of fanfiction writers everywhere: I do not own the rights to Rurouni Kenshin, Canadienne boots, the Nissan Jetta, the Bourne Identity, Minority Report, or When Harry Met Sally. I am using them without permission.

**Author:**YetAnotherCatgirl  
**Word Count: **2912  
**Notes:** This story is an attempt at realistic dialog, without using large paragraphs of description. Written mainly because I needed SOMETHING to put into my profile, or I might get kicked off.

**Night Out Chapter 1**: Sano needs a job.  
OR _"I dunno, Misao, he looks kind of sketchy to me..."_

It was one of those days when the sky turns the color of slush and stepping outside feels like walking into a mist shower cabinet. It was the kind of multidirectional rain that makes an umbrella perfectly useless, and leaves you with a dampness all the way down to your underwear that won't go away even after an hour in front of the heater.

It was not dark enough yet to justify street lights, so the road was only partially visible through the haze. The street was covered by puddles of dark water, slightly disturbed by the mist. It was the kind of day best spent inside, curled up with a book, rather than wandering the streets.

Someone who heartily wished she were curled up with a book stepped into this dreary street and halted at the top of the row house steps. Kaoru zipped up her fleece sweatshirt, checked that her messenger bag was secure, and pulled her hands into the sleeves, shivering a little. "Come on, guys! This was your idea."

She was followed out by the tall figure of Megumi and the shorter one of Misao.

"Ugh, I should have worn a hat," the short girl moaned.

"Not a hat, Misao." Megumi chided her, turning and locking the apartment door. "A hat would mess with your hair. An umbrella."

"An umbrella wouldn't do me any good." Misao had bounded down the steps and was bouncing at the bottom. "Look at this stuff, it's everywhere… Let's get to the car as quickly as possible."

The three headed off down the street to the parking lot, single file to avoid the puddles. The car, a black Nissan Jetta, was parked in the middle of a particularly large one.

"Look at this!" Megumi whined. "My boots will get all wet."

"Aren't they waterproof?" Kaoru wanted to know. "I thought you got that nice, slush-tested black pair."

"I decided at the last minute that they weren't as nice as the other ones." Megumi beeped the car open and picked her way through to the driver's side.

"Shotgun! The non-stiletto ones?" Misao had dashed for the other front door, leaving Kaoru to the back.

"Yeah. The ones with the detailing."

"I thought you said they were too cowboy." Kaoru slid across the back seat to sit behind Megumi. "Ugh, I'm soaked."

Megumi pulled the car out of the lot, and they were off down the street. "I changed my mind. Western is in."

"Really?" Misao was already fiddling with the radio. "I thought it was bright colors- you know, the 'I chose my clothes in the dark' look."

Once Misao had decided on the perfect radio station (something about current hits and smooth jazz), she swiveled in her seat to face Kaoru and Megumi. "So, before we pick up this no-good boyfriend of yours…"

"He's not no-good!" Megumi interrupted.

"Okay, the… boyfriend," Misao continued, being sure to leave a sarcastic gap, "I have something to ask you guys."

There was an expectant silence. Then Kaoru put in "about the test?"

"Yes, the test." Misao nodded. "I want you guys to be there. Just in case."

"Sounds fine." They were stopped at a red light, and Megumi took the opportunity to check her hair in the rearview mirror.

"No problem." Kaoru was squeaking the condensation off her window. "And after, we can watch a movie. With popcorn, and chocolate."

The test worried Misao for several reasons. One, of course, was nervousness. She would be testing for her black belt in front of many people, and she wanted some company. But the chief reason, and the one that prompted her to ensure that the other two would come, was a matter of men. She had dated a teacher in the class, and they had had a rather spectacularly awful breakup. It would be the first time she would have had to be in the same place with him since.

It was not the first time one of these breakups had occurred, and judging by her track record--fall in fast, jump out fast—it wouldn't be the last.

"We could watch the Bourne Identity, or Minority Report." Megumi, despite her exquisite manners and elegant taste in clothes, liked dramatic action movies.

"I dunno." Misao tugged and straightened her skirt. "Marching metal spiders would be a bit much. Something romantic."

"We could watch 'When Harry Met Sally'." Kaoru suggested.

"Seen it." Megumi said. The light turned green, and they were off again.

"Is that the one with the faked orgasm?" Misao asked. The skirt had been arranged to her satisfaction, so she smoothed down her hair.

"Yep. Right in the middle of that truck stop, in front of everybody." Kaoru looked thoughtful. "I could never pull that off."

The trio was silent as they considered the machinations of faking orgasms in public places.

"All told, though, I don't want to see it again. Ah--­" Megumi was in the middle of turning left with the light when a car suddenly decided to run the red. She slammed on her brakes as the other car roared by. Kaoru squeaked. Misao swore. "Damn road hogs. The light was red, you f…" she trailed off at Megumi's disapproving look. "… f… fiends…"

"Everybody ok?" Megumi asked, once they had cleared the intersection.

"Yep. Just startled." Kaoru was rummaging under the seat for her messenger bag, which hadn't been strapped in. "The pages went everywhere…"

"Those… yeah, I'm fine. Did you get the license number?" Misao was still peering back the way they came.

Two blocks later, spirits had recovered and they returned to the matter at hand. "So… We could just go to Blockbuster, and see what we find." Kaoru suggested.

"Sure. But no more than two movies—I'll be at work the whole next day and don't want to stay up too late."

Megumi was a general practitioner at the university hospital, which meant she had "all the cases and none of the fun". Kaoru and Misao had quickly learned not to get her started on the evils of 9-minute appointments and rotating nurses.

"Sounds fine. And we can pick up some of that cheesy popcorn and sour patch there." Misao was on board.

"Sour patch give me mouth sores."

"Eww, Kaoru, too much information!"

Megumi pulled up to a three-story apartment complex. "Misao, go bang on the door and get Sano."

"Whaaat?" Misao turned away from the side mirror, where she had been fixing her hair. "I'll get all wet again. Fetch him yourself!"

"You'll be under the arch most of the time. It serves a dual purpose- it's on your side, and I want to sit next to my fiancé."

"Fiance?" The other two girls shrieked. "Megumi, why didn't you say something?" "I would have told you if I got fianceed!"

"Engaged, Misao." Megumi shouted over the commotion. "And I was going to tell you once I had him in here."

"Oh." That mollified them a little. "Well, congratulations!" Kaoru said.

"I'll hop out and get him, then." Misao collected her cute evening purse and scampered up to the door.

She returned in short order with Sano trailing her. Sano was… tall and skinny. He had brown hair that he usually kept in gel-assisted spikes, and preferred jeans to slacks. Since meeting Megumi, he had shifted from t-shirts to button-down shirts, making him more formal than a normal unemployed security guard. He had lost his job when pay cuts hit, and was currently on the market.

"Yo, ladies." He opened the front door and folded his height into the car. "So have you heard anything lately?"

"We have!" Misao kicked Kaoru's bag off the passenger seat and buckled herself in. "Congratulations!"

"Yep. This time for real." He gave Megumi a peck on the lips, which she swatted him for (out of habit, rather than from any ill intent), and buckled himself in, reaching for the radio. "Let's rock and roll, ladies!"

"Touch that dial and you die, rooster boy."

"Sorry, Misao!"

"But why now?" Kaoru said, casting Misao a reproving look.

"Yeah, well… I thought after four years of dating—"

"Five." Megumi interjected.

"Four, babe. I met you summer after college."

"That makes five. Meeting summer, med school summer, med school summer, off summer, and this summer."

"This summer doesn't count yet."

"Okay, four then. But a couple months from now…" After exchanging another kiss, Megumi started the car and they drove off.

"So what's so urgent we have to go to Katsu's place tonight?" Kaoru asked, after Misao had calmed down. ("I still can't believe you didn't TELL me!")

Megumi took one hand off the wheel to pet Sano's gelled spikes. "He's got a job interview. And since we were going out to somewhere similar anyway, I thought we could give him a ride."

"Ooh! I didn't know he was hiring." Misao leaned around the seat. "As a what?"

"A bouncer." He looked proud.

"Like the ones that stand outside, or the ones that keep the bartender from being mobbed?" Kaoru, as usual, was full of practical considerations.

"Dunno yet." Sano swiveled around in his seat to look at her. "I'm hoping for inside, though. I wouldn't want to stand out in the wind. Or, actually… does Katsu's place make you stand outside?"

"Don't remember. I bet you could do it, though." Sano in a black suit, black shirt, and black tie, would be an impressive sight.

Megumi only had to drive around two blocks before she found a spot. Unfortunately, it was so tight that Sano had to get out and direct her in.

"I hope someone leaves before we do…" Kaoru said, looking at the tiny gap between the back of Megumi's Jetta and the sedan behind it. "But at least it isn't in a puddle this time."

"No problem," said Sano. "Megumi's a good parker."

"Your faith in me is… inspiring." They shared another kiss.

"Aww, geez, guys, get a room!" Misao had little patience for standing in the mist. "Don't you have an appointment to keep?"

What Kaoru had called "Katsu's Place" was not, as her moniker suggested, a small establishment. The Black Lagoon was turning out to be one of the city's hot night-spots for dancing, for drinking and for karaoke. They had an actual stage, lots of dance floor, two separate bars, a seating area, and the karaoke rooms. It was able to get the hottest names in local music, and even the occasional radio-caliber DJ. Tonight was a DJ night, meaning the line was as long as ever.

The bouncer guarding the line was built like a refrigerator. And he didn't look happy to see their little party. "Names?"

"Sanosuke Sagara. I'm here for a job interview with Katsu."

The refrigerator raised one of his eyebrows. It was an interesting look for someone who was as bald as an egg. "And these?" He managed to indicate with that one word not only his disdain for them, but also his opinion of line-jumpers and hangers-on in general.

"My fiancée and cheering squad." He gave Megumi a small peck on the cheek. "Feel free to ask Katsu about them, too."

The refrigerator grudgingly pulled out a cell phone, and hit a speed dial number. "Yo. Got a Sagara down here? Yuh. Yep." He flicked the phone shut, and looked very disturbed. "You can go on in," he said grudgingly. "Marissa will take you to the office."

The interior of the club was dim, with flashing strobe lights and a big moveable spotlight. On the dance floor, the crowd was writhing like a heap of swarming ants. The noise was poundingly loud, almost too loud to hear anything but the base.

"…." Misao was trying to say something.

"What?" Kaoru yelled.

"I SAID, IT'S LOUD IN HERE!"

Kaoru was just drawing breath to yell back when they were interrupted by a third party.

From out of the crowded dance floor came a short, skinny woman—Misao's size, but with shorter, more puffy hair. Megumi and Sano were trying to have a conversation, and she tapped Sano on the elbow.

"I'm Marissa. I'll take you to Katsu." She handed them some drink tickets, then headed off. Sano followed her, and Megumi followed him.

Misao and Kaoru, abandoned, looked at each other, then at the dance floor. Misao tried to say something else, which Kaoru couldn't hear, and pointed away from where Megumi and Sano had disappeared to. After more garbled shouting and fruitless pantomine, Misao tugged on Kaoru's sleeve, and pointed away from the stage. The back of the club and second bar were in a glass room of their own, presumably to deaden the sound from the floor.

Once the door shut, the noise decreased to a dull roar. "What did you have to say?" Kaoru asked.

"I wanted us to come in here so we could talk without shouting."

This wasn't just any weekend trip to the club. This was an encounter that had been planned for days. Misao, still smarting over the loss of her most recent boyfriend, was out looking for another man. Megumi, with the happiness that comes from the first few moments of engagement, soundly seconded that idea. Kaoru, who was usually the voice of reason in such affairs, had been suckered in by promises of drinks and no shopping trip next week.

They chose a table far to the back, away from the bar and in the corner between the club wall and the glass. Kaoru slid herself into that corner, messenger bag on the seat next to hers. Misao perched on the outside chair, eyeing the bar. "We have three tickets. What will Megumi want?"

Kaoru started getting her editing equipment out, setting up her reading glasses, black pens, and a sheaf of galley proofs. "She usually has a super-dry martini, stirred. You know, the kind where you just swish the glass with the vermouth, then fill it up with gin."

Misao stifled a squeak. "Kaoru, look look!"

"Eh?" Kaoru looked up from arranging her things.

"That guy." Misao gestured to the left corner of the bar, the side away from the bright lights of the dance floor.

"The redhead?" Sitting at a table was a man bearing the most amazing shock of red hair she'd seen in her life. It was red, true red, long and shiny. She was speculating on the amount of time it took him to wash all that hair when Misao interrupted her daze. "Not the redhead, the one next to him."

Kaoru looked again. Beside the redhead was a tall man, with a dark trenchcoat laying over the seat beside him. He had black hair, the bangs just barely hanging in his eyes. Totally Misao's type- he looked like a vampire.

"He looks a little sketchy, Misao." But her friend was already headed towards the bar with the three drink tickets in hand. "And the saga starts once more…" Kaoru sighed. She went back to her correcting- there was little that could be done once Misao began her chase.

Usually they would wait until Megumi got back to get the drinks, then spend the rest of the evening trying to coerce Kaoru onto the dance floor. Today, though, the plans had been derailed. Megumi was upstairs with Sano, and not here to persuade Misao to think before she acted. Doubtless Misao wanted to catch the eye of tall-dark-and-handsome, for at least a flirt. Or she could go in a different direction, going for his friend.

Either way, in a few minutes, she would probably come back, having dropped several hints, brushed past the target table, or done some deliberate staring. The target male would come over, Misao would look surprised, ask Kaoru to watch her drink, and go dance. Then, hours or weeks later, Misao would come back, depressed and alone, and inform then that he had a wedding ring tan, or was a pervert, or a bad dancer. "I know it's dumb," she had told Kaoru once, after a two-week fling, "but I always hope that some time it'll all work out for me. I guess I'm just a romantic."

Misao was back in eleven minutes precisely, carefully balancing three drinks. Kaoru saw her strawberry daquiri, Megumi's martini, and… something blue. "It was on fire before," Misao explained. Kaoru nodded, and as soon as it was down, took a sip.

"Tastes… sour." From her bubbly personality and bouncing, one would assume that Misao was a sweet drinks girl. But her taste tended to run towards the salty and tart, rather than to the mellow and fruity.

"Well," Misao said, after she'd sat down and the rest of the drinks were safely on the table, "I went over there with my tickets, and almost tripped on the guy's chair. And he apologized, can you believe it?" She took a sip of Megumi's martini, and wrinkled her nose. "I can't believe fox-lady likes that stuff."

"You say that every time, Misao." Kaoru carefully circled some italics and wrote "rom" in the margin.

"Yeah, well… I figure it'll grow on me." She fluffed her hair a little, and re-crossed her legs, being sure to let the slit in her skirt slide open. "Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. Well, I didn't want to look TOO eager, you know, so I said thank-you and walked over to the bar."

Kaoru nodded absently, pen in hand to make more corrections. Misao would rattle on whether she was listening or not.

"And… don't look now, but he's looking over here!"

**Easy Review Options:  
**_Just Copy And Paste!_ Or even just write the single letter.  
A. Don't quit your day job. You suck. I will flame you and spork your story, because it's THAT BAD.  
B. Nice grammar, but I hate your style.  
C. You had an error here: " "  
D. Good job.  
E. Update now!

And if I gave you too many options, then leave a review and tell me so!


	2. Bad pickup lines

A disclaimer, in the tradition of fanfiction writers everywhere: I do not own the rights to Rurouni Kenshin, bad pick-up lines, mixed drinks, the "wingman" strategy, belt rankings, or the awful innuendo at the end of page 8. I am using them without permission. (Except the innuendo, which is so awful that I refuse to take the blame).

**Author:**YetAnotherCatgirl 3/6/06  
**Word Count: **2742  
**Notes:** A story written as an attempt at realistic dialog, without using large paragraphs of description. Continued because everyone who left a review asked me to.

**Night Out Chapter 2: **Bad pick-up lines.  
OR "_What if I told you I'm not his wingman?"_

Kaoru didn't bother to look at all. It wasn't as though this was a sudden new development, and they were sitting in the line of sight between the bar and the dance floor.

Misao squeaked again. "He's on the move!"

Kaoru still didn't look, and decided that the second line of text really needed an indent. Either tall-dark-and-handsome was coming, or he was going to the floor. Looking would only encourage Misao, after all, and Kaoru didn't like the look of the vampire-guy.

She heard him come up. "Aoshi wanted to apologize again for tripping you."

"Sorry." The second voice was deep and… stoic. Hopefully Misao was going for voice number two, since number one seemed to be the type who didn't mind being embarrassed in public. Misao's ex had been outgoing, and their breakup had been extremely public. Someone calm would be a good choice.

"And he wants to ask you to dance." Good. Evidently it was vampire's redhead companion who wanted to dance with Misao, not the vampire-guy himself. Now, if she just kept her head down, Misao would leave with the redhead…

"I'd love to, Aoshi!" Misao sounded enthused. "Kaoru, watch my drink?"

"Watch my drink" was a code phrase. It meant "I think this one is going great", "I'm going for it!" and also "I might not need a ride home". The other code was "Don't drink mine!" which meant "bail me out, now!" "Don't drink mine" was a good intro for an argument, or some pointed conversation about boyfriends, and how hot/tough/jealous/coming right back they were. It usually had the effect of driving off all but the very stupid. In the general scheme of things, though, "watch my drink" was used a lot more often. Misao only flirted with people she thought were hot, and she wasn't magnetic enough to attract many unwanted suitors.

Megumi rarely used either. Unless, of course, she was in an "off-again" period with Sano.

"Sure, Misao." Kaoru looked up at the sudden influx of noise from the door opening, and peered through the glass at Misao leading a tall man to the floor.

The door shut with a "thunk", cutting off most of the music, and Kaoru went back to her galley proofs. The printer must have been tipsy when he laid this one out, because there were tiny typos everywhere, the frustrating "two letters switched" kind that were so hard to catch. She reached absently for her daiquiri, and brought it up to take a sip. Instead of the strawberry iciness she was expecting, she got the sour taste of Misao's blue thing.

The blue drink reminded her of the vampire-guy. Good thing Misao was with the Aoshi one—She took another look out the window. Misao was all over Aoshi… who was the one that looked like a vampire. "Dangit, Misao…" she muttered under her breath. What she saw in the dangerous, unfriendly looking guys, Kaoru had no clue.

Then she got her second unwelcome surprise. "What's she done?" a voice asked.

She whipped her head up, startled, and took in the rest of the small table. Sitting in Misao's vacated chair was the redhead. Now that he was closer, she was certain that the hair was dyed. Hair didn't come in that bright red color without help. And he probably used some kind of product to get it to lay down into a nice ponytail.

"Nothing." Kaoru's rule of thumb at these places was "ignore them and they'll go away". And if they didn't, she could always catch the attention of the bartender, or one of the bouncers.

"Really. So, you're a proofreader?" He gave her an engaging smile. His eyebrows matched his hair, she noticed. He was really thorough about the dye job.

She took another sip of Misao's blue drink, deciding to ignore him. The taste kind of grew on you, she decided. Like a fungus. When she looked up, though, the redhead was still there.

"Planning on working your way up to acquisitions editor?" And he was still talking to her.

"No." She put a careful slash through "like" in the third line, and replaced it with "as" on the side.

"So, do you come here often?"

That was the last straw. "You can stop now."

The smile was back. And although cute, it was really getting on her nerves. "Stop what?"

"I know this routine." She said accusingly.

Innocent blink. "What routine?"

She sighed. "Girls travel in packs. A girl won't go for a guy unless her friend is also occupied." She looked down at the manuscript, and found that she'd added too many commas. She "stet" them out. "So the guys will go together, in case someone hot has a friend. Then they'll both go up, and the wingman will 'take one for the team', and flirt with the ugly girl."

"You sound experienced." He leaned back in his chair.

"What- you think only guys use flirting strategies? Don't be dumb, wingman." The printer had gone beyond "slightly tipsy" to "intoxicated". The word "flew" was repeated three times in a row, and several words were just missing.

"I'm not a wingman."

She rolled her eyes. "Your friend was gunning for Misao, and you had to come along to keep me entertained. What else could you be?"

"What if I told you Aoshi was my wingman?"

She took a sip of Megumi's martini for variety. No, apparently her tastes still hadn't "grown up" enough to enjoy it. "I wouldn't believe you."

"Aoshi's my wingman." He fixed her with that SMILE again.

"I don't believe you." She said, looking him straight in the eye. He looked startled. "What, you didn't think I was serious?"

"No, it's not that." He shook his head. "It's just that you reminded me of someone."

At the faraway look in his eyes, she snorted and rolled her eyes. "Oh, so it's the 'reminder' game. Well, you don't have to try so hard. Misao's fine, I'm fine. So you can just go and hit on someone else."

"But I convinced Aoshi to come over so I could get you alone. Do you want all my work to go for nothing?"

"You're trying to tell me he's not here for her blatant flirting? 'Tripped over a chair', indeed… but I can see how it would work on someone like you." She took a sip of her daiquiri and went back to correcting. "Next, I suppose you're going to ask me if I'm tired from running around in your dreams all night."

There was a short pause, in which she worked her way to the bottom of another page. Then: "Did it hurt?" he asked.

"Did what hurt?" she answered, not really paying attention.

"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

She slammed her pen down. "Look, wingman, you just struck out. In fact, you were outs with me from the second you came over here."

"I've told you, Aoshi's the wingman. I'm the instigator here."

"Well then, RED, go instigate somewhere else." She picked the pen back up and industriously worked her way down a whole page more before he interrupted her.

"I'm just wondering…" he paused. When she didn't look up, he continued. "If you don't want attention, why do you come to somewhere like this?"

"That's a very impertinent personal question, wingman." She took a larger sip of her strawberry daiquiri, hoping he would go away. Through the glass wall, she could see that Misao was having a wonderful time with her vampire look-alike.

"Jealous?"

"What?"

The wingman was looking through the glass too. "They look like they're having fun."

"Feel free to join them anytime." She looked away from where Misao was dancing and back to her proofreading. The printer had gotten over his drunkenness, or whatever it was- this particular page had only 4 spacing issues. The following page was also pretty clear. The back of her neck prickled. "Dammit, stop that!"

"Stop what?" That smile HAD to be malicious, there was no way around it.

"You are the most persistent wingman I have ever had the misfortune to deal with."

"Do I get a prize?"

"No." She tried to look the page over for errors, but couldn't focus. Her eyes were drawn once again to Misao dancing. She was laughing, mouth open and head thrown back, the guy's hands on her hips.

Out of the corner of her eye, she was Megumi and Sano coming through a door in the back. They stopped and conferred for a moment. She waved to catch their attention.

The door to the dance floor opened, deluging them with noise and pounding beat, and then shut. "So, Kaoru, having fun? Going to introduce us?" Megumi slid into the seat next to her, and Sano leaned against the solid wall next to Megumi.

"No." She set down her pen and slapped Sano's hand away from her daiquiri. "Don't drink mine!" Sano grabbed Misao's blue thing instead, and took a sip. "Bleagh, this tastes awful!"

"Really?" Megumi held out her hand demandingly, and Sano handed her the drink. "Hmm," she said after her sip. "Interesting." She took a larger sip, and licked her lips with the air of a connoisseur. "Kind of off-putting at first, but I could enjoy it." She looked at the redhead. "So who are you, if I may be so bold?"

He gave her the smile. "You may. I'm Kenshin. I hope you don't mind, but I was chatting up your lovely friend here."

"Oh, not at all. She could use some chatting up." Megumi reached for her martini.

"Megumi, keep your hands off my drink; don't drink it, it's mine!" Kaoru said, carefully enunciating.

"This is my drink." Megumi gave her an innocent smile. "Yours is the daiquiri. And you don't even like martinis."

"No, I mean—"

"You can have some more of Misao's blue thing, if you want someone else's drink."

"I—"

"Well then. So, Kenshin, tell me about yourself. Where do you work?"

The wingman- she refused to think of him as Kenshin- blushed. "I work here, actually."

At this, Sano brightened up. "Really? Me too." He set down Misao's drink, and they talked shop for a while.

From her vantage point (peeking from her work), the two of them looked really friendly. Wingman was evidently a charmer.

It was at that point that Misao and her vampire-guy came back. "Hey, Megumi! I want to introduce you to Aoshi! He works here!"

"Really? Small world- Sano works here too!"

"You got the job? Yay!" Misao leapt onto Sano, giving him a hug that almost knocked him over. "Now we won't have to bring you any more leftovers!" She turned back to Aoshi and smiled. "See, I really like leftovers. It gives you so much variety at the end of a week. Do you like leftovers? Wanna come over to my apartment, and we can have some?" Aoshi declined, on the grounds that he had to work.

"How about some other time?" Misao prodded. "I could make you breakfast!" It was then that she noticed her blue drink. "Guys… did you drink my 77.7?"

"Your what?"

"My drink!" The party all looked down at the table. What had once been a 6-inch tall glass filled with neon blue liquid was now a 6-inch glass with half an inch of blue dregs in the bottom. "I didn't even get a taste! You guys are awful."

Aoshi handed her a drink ticket, and she pulled him toward the bar. "I'll just have to get another one, then. So, are you sure you don't want breakfast?"

While she had been watching Misao and the vampire- no, Aoshi, plans had been made for a get-together.

"Before work on Saturday would be good." Sano decreed.

"Sure! I'll bring beer." Kenshin agreed. They shook hands on it.

The next thing she knew, Misao had pulled Aoshi back to the dance floor, and Sano and Megumi were making up (or was that making out?) lost time on the floor, leaving her with the wingman again. Who was smiling.

"You know, Kaoru, the problem with secret codes is that the other person has to be involved too."

"Shut up."

"But it was a good idea- 'Not my drink', right?"

"No."

"Usually Aoshi and I just tell them 'not interested' to their faces."

"What do you think I've been trying to do?"

"Sano says that he hasn't seen you this worked up for months." He leaned in close. "He told me to go for it. So… how is your fever?"

Kaoru was caught off guard by the abrupt change in subject, and leaned way back to get away from him. "Fever? Wha-"

"You just look hot to me. Oh- if you were words on a page, you'd be what they call fine print. Your lips look so lonely… would they like to—"

"Do you ever stop?" She picked up the pen and angrily crossed out an innocent extra letter in committee.

"­­­–meet mine?" He continued smoothly. "You know, if you want me to stop, you could always come dance with me."

"No. I'm not here to dance." Especially not with you, she added silently. This guy was a pain, with his unshakable confidence (no, she told herself firmly, confidence was a good adjective, stubbornness) and his bad pickup lines.

"Or we could start this all over." He got up, turned around twice, and cleared his throat. "Pink elephant! So, now that the ice is broken, wanna dance?"

She ignored him. She would be like ice. She would not rise to the bait.

"Got any raisins? No? How about a date?" She tightened her hands around her pen and took a deep breath.

He went on. "I was so enchanted by your beauty that I ran into the glass wall. So I'm going to need your name and number for insurance purposes."

That was the last straw. She carefully capped her pen, stuffed the papers into her messenger bag, drained her daiquiri, and stood up.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"The ladies room."

"And you usually take all your things when you go?"

"I don't want any wingmen stealing them." She walked away, not looking over her shoulder.

"You're coming back, right? And--"

The noise from the dance floor cut out the rest of whatever he was saying.

For honesty's sake, she went to the door of the bathroom before pushing her way through the churning crowd to where Sano and Megumi were gyrating to the music. "I want to go."

"Already? I just got here!" Megumi shouted back

"Megumi, please. I'm getting a headache."

"Fine. But you owe me, yes?"

"Thank-you. Anything."

"Really?"

Kaoru bit her lip. With Megumi, "anything" could be something as tiny as buying her a latte, or something as traumatic as a stylish new haircut- for Kaoru. Still…

She glanced over her shoulder. She could just barely see the wingman sitting by the rest of the coats. "Yes, really. Just get me out of here."

Sano was dispatched on coat-duty, while Kaoru and Megumi shoved their way to Misao. "We're going, weasel-girl. Are you coming?"

With a cat-that-swallowed-the-canary smile, Misao shook her head. "I've got a ride."

"Misao…"

"Relax, Kaoru. I've got the skills to beat off men twice his size."

"…beat off?" Kaoru raised an eyebrow.

Misao blushed. "You know what I mean."

Misao did indeed have the skills to beat up men twice Aoshi's size, assuming they came any larger than the giant she was currently dancing with. The last person to fall victim to her skills was her ex, another reason she was nervous about the upcoming test. "What if the first time I beat him was a fluke, and he was going easy on me? I really want a black belt."  
The reason she didn't already have one also stemmed from her problems with men. She got demoted from green back down to white three times for "disciplinary infractions", which she refused to talk about, ever.

It was still misty outside, but not quite raining yet. The street lights all had halos, and the cars slowly circling the block made "whoosh" sounds as they zipped through the puddles.

Sano and someone else were waiting for them when they got to the car. "Hey, foxy-lady!" Sano shouted cheerfully, and passed Megumi her coat. "Since Kenshin doesn't have a ride anymore, I thought we could bring him home."

The person next to him turned around, and Kaoru saw the bright red bangs under the black knit hat. Sano was saying something else, but she wasn't listening anymore.

Kenshin smiled at her. "I'm glad we met up again--I felt guilty for sneaking off while you were in the ladies' room."

"You…!"

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C. I have found an error! Fix " "  
D. Duuude. Niiice.  
E. Update or I'll send you chain letters!

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	3. Saturday

A disclaimer, in the tradition of fanfiction writers everywhere: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, the Nissan Jetta, the mangled Casablanca reference, Saturn cars, or any daiquiri mix. I am using them without permission.

**Author:**YetAnotherCatgirl  
**Word Count: **3,103  
**Notes: **A valiant attempt at dialog without too many descriptions. I'm glad everyone likes the Easy Review Options- if you see them elsewhere, remember you saw them here first! (I could be the start of a review-whoring trend!)

Thanks given to **_Laegdin_**, **_SilentTearsofAgony_**, **_en route_**, clebbers, Mio and alexia, without which this chapter would be horrible. It still isn't my favorite- but it's not their fault.

**Night Out Chapter 3:** Saturday  
OR _"The events that followed could have been prevented…"_

Kenshin politely held the car door open for her, forcing her to squeeze past him into the back seat. She took petty pleasure from not sliding over to the driver's side until he was halfway around the car, forcing him to circle back to the passenger side. For a second, she considered sliding over once again, but decided against too much overt rudeness with Megumi in the car.

She set up her messenger bag in the middle as a barrier.

"So Misao's not coming?" Sano asked, after Megumi had eased the Jetta from its tight parking spot.

"No." Megumi looked resigned. "I think she's found another. Let's hope this one doesn't blow up the way the last one did."

There was a moment of silence for all the failed relationships in Misao's past, until Kenshin broke it. "So this happens often?"

"Oh, no. Well, yes." Megumi explained.

Kenshin looked puzzled. Kaoru shook her head. "It's never Misao's fault- she throws herself completely into every relationship."

"She's got the worst luck in men." Megumi added.

"No, I think it's a problem of taste."

"Well," Megumi said with a foxy smile, "if we're discussing people's taste in men…"

"Shut up. I don't comment on your taste in music."

Megumi had tuned in to the public radio station, which was playing something by Bach or Beethoven. "You just aren't old enough to appreciate it."

"So Kenshin, where do you live?" Sano asked, as Megumi negotiated a tricky bit of passing.

"On the corner of 36th and 48th. I'm across the street from the school, once we get closer."

Kaoru stiffened. Megumi smirked. "Don't worry, I know just how to get there. So we're going to drop Kaoru off first, is that ok?"

"No," Kaoru protested, "I'm sure Kenshin wants to get home to rest from his work day as quickly as possible. You can drop him off first. I'm fine."

"No, I don't mind at all." Kenshin said.

"I _really_ couldn't keep you." Kaoru demurred.

"Honestly, it's no problem. I could be riding as a third wheel with Aoshi."

"Besides," Megumi interrupted, "it's on the way. You wouldn't want to make me pull a u-turn, would you Kaoru dahling?"

"I have faith in your u-turn capabilities, if you're such a good parker."

"'Methinks the lady doth protest too much," Sano said. "You never appreciated the foxy parking jobs before."

"Foxy parking jobs?" Megumi was amused. "Well, that's a new way to think about it."

"You're a total fox, foxy lady." Sano said, loyally. And at the next stoplight, they exchanged another kiss.

Kenshin blushed and looked away, while Kaoru just glared. "Green light." She said, when the light changed. They didn't notice. "Hey, lovebirds, green light!"

Megumi zoomed across the intersection as the cars behind her honked angrily. Only two of them managed to make it across before the light changed.

"I thought you were a good driver." Kaoru said accusingly. "If Misao were here, she'd never let you hear the last of it." She looked at Kenshin. "Bet you wish you were with Misao and Aoshi now, even as a third wheel."

The conversation turned to other, more pleasant things, like the rainy weather, the benefits of leather upholstery (Sano was planning on buying a car, hopefully before the wedding), and the likelihood of Katsu buying another building.

When Megumi pulled up at the corner in front of Kaoru's blue house, the wingman leaned across the back seat towards her. He had that smile on again, and his eyes sparkled. "I hear the word of the day is legs."

She pulled her bag out of the car, ignoring him. "What say you come kitty corner to my place, and we can spread the word?"

Slam.

After shutting the car door in his face, Kaoru rushed through the mist into her house. It was dark inside, since her housemate was at work. Hurrying to the window, she peered carefully through the blinds.

The black Jetta was idling across the road, and the wingman was walking up the front walk of the corner house. It figured, she thought. It had always been a tacky house.

"'Spread the word, hmph. Why," she asked herself, "out of all people in all the bars of the world that could have hit on me, did it have to be the one that lives next door?" Resolving not to think about it any further, she locked the front door and headed for bed.

* * *

The next day was Saturday. Kaoruwoke up late and decided to cut down on the dishwashing by having cereal. She poured herself a large bowl with the last of the milk, rinsed the empty carton, and put the cereal back into the cupboard--all she had to actually wash was a bowl and spoon.

She took a moment to check the weather (warm and sunny) before conveying her cereal to the couch. While something cheaply animated played on the TV, she turned to her first order of business: creating a to-do list for the day.

Kaoru was a very organized person. She had a place for everything, unlike Misao, who was incurably messy, or Megumi, who was tidy only in public areas. Sano, back at the beginning of their relationship, had been surprised to find Megumi's bedroom to be a disaster area. "I was worried I was dating Martha Stewart," he told her. "But I think we'll get along fine." (That was also the spark for one of their first arguments, one which escalated to both of them yelling at each other from across Megumi's bedroom.)

The only place where Kaoru's organizational skills failed her was in cooking.

After a few minutes of thought, her list was complete. Buy milk. Check cupboards. Leave Misao a message. Call Megumi. Finish galley proofs. Yahiko coming? Then she revised it in order of the things she was actually willing to do, which left 'Message Misao. Call Megumi.'

With that plan of action in mind, she dialed Misao's number. When Misao got a ride home with someone else, it meant that she didn't get home until the afternoon. Since Kaoru hadn't gotten a call for a ride home, it meant that her date had been a success.

To her surprise, Misao picked up the phone on the first ring.

"Yo, Kaoru. I didn't sleep with him." She said, before Kaoru could even say hello. Caller ID was so handy sometimes.

"And?" Kaoru pressed. There was an awkward silence. "That came out wrong. You usually go for it."

"Well…" Misao giggled nervously. "I…"

"Let me guess- he didn't want you." Maybe the redhead was right about the wingman thing.

"No, he's totally into me. I expected him to drive me to his apartment. Or then, to my apartment. But we made plans for next weekend, and I got a goodnight kiss."

"Well, that's different."

"No kidding. Kaoru, I think this guy _is _different."

At Kaoru's skeptical silence, she pressed on. "We're going out together next Saturday. He has to work the rest of this weekend."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"You never do anything anymore!"

"Exactly, I—" She was cut off by Misao's sudden panic.

"That means I only have a week to find the right dress! What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Nothing in particular."

"Then you and Megumi are going shopping with me."

"But—"

"I don't want your opinion. If you don't like it and Megumi does, I know it's the right one."

"Hmph."

"And maybe we can get you something, too. Strappy shoes…" She overrode Kaoru's objections. "I know you can walk in them, because I've seen you at it."

"Mou."

"And don't pout at me. Speaking of pouting, Megumi wants you to call her. I'll let you go so you can go do that now."

Kaoru looked blankly at the handset. Someday she was going to stop letting them bulldoze right over her. Still, it was nice to have friends.

She took another few bites of cereal, and dialed Megumi.

Megumi never picked up the phone until the third ring. "Hello?"

"Megumi?"

"Kaoru! You are coming this afternoon, right?"

"To what?"

"What we planned last night. With Kenshin."

"Oh, I can't. My car's been doing funny things; I planned to take it in this afternoon." Kaoru ate a large spoonful of cereal in an attempt to cover the half-truth.

"Really." Megumi sounded skeptical; apparently the cereal trick hadn't worked. "Well then, Kenshin can give you a ride."

"Ah… I guess it's not that serious."

"I thought not. I'll expect you here at 2:00." Megumi waited for Kaoru to get her grumbles out of the way. "Why don't you like Kenshin?"

"Besides the obvious?"

"What's all this about obvious? He's 'totally hot and totally into you,' as weasel-girl would say."

"_He_ had long hair too."

"That's a shallow reason to turn Kenshin off."

"He was trying too hard."

"Kaoru…" Megumi's voice sounded a little exasperated.

"I'll be polite." Kaoru conceded. "But any more of that 'word of the day' stuff, and I'm out."

"But I thought you _liked_ bad pickup lines!"

"_Good_ bad pickup lines."

"You _do_ like him." Megumi sounded very certain.

"I don't." Kaoru insisted. "He's like… scenery."

"Sano's right- you haven't been this active for months!"

"Megumi…"

"What would you have done if he'd pressed your other buttons? 'If you were a phaser, you'd be set on stunning'? Or the one about 'adding you and me, and multiplying'?"

"It's 'add a bed, subtract our clothes, divide your legs, and multiply'. I hate that one."

"All right, all right... you are coming shopping on Sunday, yes?" At Kaoru's silence, Megumi continued. "My apologies for interrupting your sulking time- you can sulk after the weekend, I promise."

"I'm not sulking!"

"You are."

"Am not." After a few more exchanges, they dropped the subject of Kaoru for a while and dissected Misao's new boyfriend.

"He seems so frigid. And he looks like a vampire."

"You're determined not to like anyone. I thought he looked fine. And by 'fine', I mean both 'fine' and 'fiiine'." Kaoru could almost see Megumi's suggestive smirk.

"Don't encourage her."

"She hasn't told me anything. Usually she wants to make sure I know all the little details."

"Maybe she doesn't want you _prying_ into _her_ _life._"

"It's usually me that pulls out the snark in our trio."

"Your engagement has made you weak." Kaoru retorted. "How the mighty have fallen."

"I haven't fallen. Obviously, you are just trying to usurp my position."

"Hmph. I'll see you this afternoon."

"All right. See you." Kaoru took small pleasure in being the first one to hang up.

She finished her cereal, which had gone soggy, and brought the remains and her to-do list into the kitchen. Because her range of dishes was limited, there wasn't much to shop for. In cases of "people bringing leftovers to others", it was usually she who benefited, rather than Sano. Kaoru knew she was a hopeless cook, and wasn't afraid to admit it.

Kaoru heard a door squeak open from the bedroom area and started the electric kettle. Sylvia was up, and she would want coffee.

"I'm going shopping, do you want anything?" she asked, as Sylvia staggered in.

"Coffee."

"I've started the kettle now."

Her housemate woke up suddenly. "Did you put more water in before you started it?"

"Uh…"

"Out!" Kaoru was pushed out of the way. "I'll make my own."

"Mou." She heard water running, and retreated to her room. Sylvia was overreacting, as usual. The curtains only caught fire once, and that was months ago.

After a quick shower, she plotted out the rest of her itinerary. Work until 1:30, Megumi's, grocery shopping. She set an alarm for 1:30, and bucked herself down to the proofs.

When 1:30 arrived, she was out the door and into her old Saturn. She pulled up in front of the row house 12 minutes later, and managed to find a parking spot less than a block away. As she walked up the steps, she heard a burst of laughter and the door opened before she reached it. "Come in!"

The wingman opening the door wasn't startling- she was half-expecting it. The surprise was the effect of all that red hair in natural daylight. It was beautiful. Then she realized she was staring. She pushed past him into the entry, leaving him to shut the door after her. He dyes it every three weeks, she reminded herself.

Megumi and Sano were on the couch. "Beer?" The latter asked.

At Kaoru's pitiful look, Megumi rolled her eyes. "I have daiquiri mix--just don't set my kitchen on fire."

"That was a long time ago!" They'd never let her forget those curtains.

Kenshin trailed her into the kitchen. "Sano said it was on the top shelf."

"I know." Then, remembering Megumi's request, she added, "thank-you."

She retrieved the mix, handed it to Kenshin, and took a seat at the table while he mixed and blended.

"Virgin?" he asked.

"What?" The tone of her voice must have indicated the embarrassment, because he blushed too.

"I meant, do you want your daiquiri with alcohol or not?"

"Oh. I knew that." She waited for her blush to cool down. "None, please. It's too early for alcohol."

"Right." She expected him to turn it into a flirt, but he just poured her a glass. "Go ahead."

"Thanks." She took a sip.

"How is it?"

"Fine."

He carried the blender pitcher and several more glasses back into the living room, where Sano and Megumi were having an argument over the remote.

"We can't just sit here and watch football! We have guests!" Megumi was expounding.

"Ah, you're just saying that because you don't like it. But… Hey, Kenshin!"

"Yes?" The wingman was setting the blender jar on a coaster, three glasses arranged beside it in a neat triangle.

"How do you feel about soccer?"

"I like soccer."

Kenshin settled himself in an armchair by the window, so Kaoru took one as far away from him as possible. Sano flipped the channel to ESPN, and they watched soccer for a while.

With the TV as an icebreaker, conversation flowed easily. Kenshin was intelligent, or at least a news-reader. He had a nice laugh. He was dependable, since he had worked for Katsu since the Black Lagoon opened. He was hot—

Realizing that she was listing his good points, Kaoru quickly switched to enumerating the things wrong with him. He was too confident—someone should take him down a peg or two. Sano was enthralled by Kenshin telling how he broke up a 6-person fight by himself. Kaoru disapproved like brawling in bars. She liked her fights in the open, on mats. He had a nice smile—but he used it to approach random women in bars. Kenshin, she decided, was a player. It took a lot of research and development to look both harmless and dateable. _He_ had also been a player.

But Megumi was giving her a significant look. She must have missed something. "What?"

"I said, 'I have some stuff from Katsu for Sano. You ladies are welcome to stay if you like'," Kenshin said, flashing his smile.

"And I said, 'It's fine, we'll just wash the blender'." Megumi gave her another significant look before taking the blender and empty glasses into the kitchen. Kaoru followed.

Once they were out of view, Megumi turned to her. "Well?"

Kaoru blinked. "Well what?"

"I noticed you noticing Kenshin." Megumi set the jar and glasses into her sink.

"So he's nice to look at." Kaoru plopped herself into a kitchen chair. "What's the deal?"

"Thinking any differently?"

"I don't want any men in my life right now. It's just because he's nice to look at."

Megumi unscrewed the blades from the jar, and was wiping at them with a foamy sponge. "You seem pretty melancholy from where I'm standing. All you do now is work."

"I like my job. I go out with you and Misao, that's not work."

"You only go because we bribe you. Left to yourself—"

"Left to myself I'm fine! Kenshin's like window shopping. Nice, but he doesn't match my sofa."

"They're not all like _him_." Megumi reached for a dishtowel.

Kaoru handed her one, then dropped her hands into her lap. "I _know_ that, fox. Just leave it." She checked her watch. "Oh- I need to go shopping before the dinner rush hits."

Megumi accepted the topic change. "Out of food again?"

"Kinda."

"Only 'kinda'?" Megumi put the now dry blender assembly onto the top shelf, and began to wipe the counter down with the dishtowel.

"We're just out of milk, and Sylvia wanted some things."

"Riiight."

When Megumi finished, they made their way into the living room. Sano and Kenshin were discussing something about floor plans. "Misao and I will pick you up tomorrow morning."

"When?"

"Say… 10:00? Then we'll get to the mall by when things are open."

Goodbyes were said, and Kaoru grabbed her purse. Somehow, Kaoru found herself being walked to the car by the redhead.

Kenshin came straight to the point. "Sano told me you like pickup lines."

They had arrived at her car, and Kaoru was rummaging through her purse for her keys. "Did he?" She asked, not liking the direction the conversation was headed.

"So I was wondering…" Kaoru rummaged faster. She didn't like the sound of this at all.

"…if you wanted to do some math."

The events that followed could have been prevented. It was true that that particular line had a tragic history. _He_ had used that line, back in the day. At that time, she had thought it was cute, a clever use of mathematical operators with a proposition on top. Now, though, it was a painful reminder of things better left buried.

So when she whirled around and stalked towards him, she should not have been breathing as hard as she was. And the hissing of "You're all the same, aren't you? Can't take no for an answer, can you?" had been overly harsh, as had shouting "I'm not interested in you! Go away!"

When he took a step forward to say something, shoving him into a fence had also been excessive.

She had vague residual memory of him trying to say something more as she drove away, and she probably should have listened.

Yes. She had overreacted, she could see that now. But on the plus side…

"I bet he's given up, huh?" she told the grocery store parking lot.

And she wasn't sorry about _that_ part of it at all.

**Easy Review Options:  
**_Just Copy And Paste!_ Or even just write the single letter.  
A. For the love of kami-samas! Stop butchering my fandom's characters!  
B. You made her scare him off! Now they'll never get together. And it's your fault!  
C. You screwed " " up, FYI.  
D. I quite liked it, actually.  
E. Update! Now! Obey your reviewers! (courtesy of **_Natarie_**.)

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	4. Malls and nice stationary

A disclaimer, in the tradition of fanfiction writers everywhere: I do not own the rights to Rurouni Kenshin, parking garages, Savers, notepaper, or "Endangered Species" chocolate. I am using them without permission.

**Author:**YetAnotherCatgirl 4/11/06  
**Word Count: **2873  
**Notes**: Sure looks like Thursday to me!  
Well, I kinda expected 1 week's hiatus- I had an anime convention to cosplay for. (Anime Detour, Soi Fon from Bleach.) I didn't expect a second convention the next week, though. (ConBust, Soi Fon again.) Or a third one the week after that. (OurCon, Piroko from Megatokyo.) Maybe I need to limit myself…

**Night Out Chapter 4: **Malls and Nice Stationary.  
OR "_Megumi had taken Misao's attempt to copy her style very seriously indeed_..."  
/ "_It wasn't that she_ wanted _another letter_..."

Grocery shopping had gone off without a hitch. Sylvia's groceries were put away, with the receipt left on the table for payment.  
She made spaghetti for dinner, pulling it off with only one small error. After bringing the pot out and serving herself some, she noticed that the noodles were wetter than usual. They were sitting on the plate in a puddle of water.  
She took a look inside the pot—she had forgotten to drain them!  
The last time she'd forgotten to drain the noodles, the strainer hadn't been on securely, and the spaghetti had fallen all over the sink. Nothing traumatic happened this time around, though, and she was able to eat her spaghetti in peace.

Consciously not thinking of the red-head, she finished her work and went to bed early.

"Yo!" Misao shouted at her door. "We're here!"

"Coming!" Kaoru shouted back. She'd spent her morning preparing for the trip: legs shaved, hair fixed, and attired in easily-changeable, loose clothes. She had been debating over whether or not to bother with makeup, but Misao's arrival settled that one. It would be the au natural look today.

Once they were all safely in the car, Misao detailed her vision for the date.

"I'm looking for something elegant. Darkish, but not solid. Something like Megumi wears."

"I think you'd need to be much taller to pull off a Megumi." Kaoru said, rolling down her window.

"I'm not that short!" Misao argued. "And roll the window back up, it's messing with my hair."

"It's not my fault you're doing the loose thing today." Kaoru had put her hair in a tight French braid, with just a touch of hairspray to keep the wisps down. Misao, on the other hand, had her hair in a tail. It was whipping around and working itself into tangles.

"Kaoru, shut the window." Megumi's hair was pristine, despite the rushing wind. "It's Misao's shopping trip."

"Hmph." But she rolled the window up anyway.

They found a parking spot on level three of the garage, a short stroll from the skyway into the mall proper.

"We're parked in Arizona, row 3. Kaoru, remember that."

"Better write it down," Misao teased. "Wouldn't want to forget."

"That was only once! And it was special."

"Shopping for your date with _him_."

"At least I kept that date for longer than two weeks!"

Misao huffed. "Oh yeah? Well…"

"Oh, but Aoshi's _differ-ent_." Kaoru continued, mimicking Misao's tone. "Hit a nerve?" She sidestepped Misao's half-hearted rush. "Want to start something?"

"Stop it, both of you." Megumi had plotted the most efficient course from store to store, and was already heading off. "We're in public."

"I don't mind." Misao said, walking ahead. "I'm so happy with Aoshi that Kaoru's jealousy can't get me down."

"I'm not jealous!"

"Oh, but you _are_, raccoon girl."

"I could get a date too, if I was in the mood!"

"Is that a bet?"

"Bring it—" Kaoru caught herself. "No."

"Almost had you there."

"And it wouldn't be with that wingman!"

Misao smirked. "I didn't say anything about him, did I?"

"You—"

"Our first stop is going to be Savers," Megumi said, drowing out Kaoru. "Just make a quick run-though, grab anything nice in Misao's size."

They regrouped in front of the changing rooms, Misao and Kaoru, who had arrived first, dropping their piles of clothes on the only chair.

"I'm thinking something short- it's almost spring." Megumi said, eyeing the pile. She handed her load to Kaoru (over her splutters of "Hey! Carry your own!") and started sorting. Anything long she slung over her shoulder, and anything short she handed to Misao.

"Nothing too bright, though," Misao pointed out, putting several bright pieces back on the chair. "It's for the evening."

"By the way," Kaoru said from behind her huge pile, "where _are_ you going?"

"Greek restaurant." Misao chose six things and took them into a stall. Megumi hung the un-chosen items on the return rack, then began to sort Kaoru's pile.

Misao came out wearing the first selection. "I like the skirt on this one- and we might be dancing." The current dress was a classic LBD- short, one-piece, basic black.

Megumi vetoed it with a shake of her head. "It makes you look like a teenie bopper."

"What about this is teenie bopper?" Misao spun around, the skirt flapping up to almost indecent levels. "I look hot."

"It's got a butterfly on the back."

"What?" Misao went through some strange contortions in front of the mirror, finally getting a good look at her back. "It does! Darn."

"I think the idea is a good one, though," Kaoru said as Misao went back into her stall. "Just without the butterfly."

Misao came out in dress after dress. "How about this one?"

"Too short. You look like a slut."

"And now?"

"You can't dance in a shawl like that."

"This?"

"Peruvian immigrant."

"How about now?"

"You already tried that one on."

"This one."

"You can't go out to a nice dinner with your midriff showing."

The next two stores were also a bust. Megumi had taken Misao's attempt to copy her style very seriously indeed. "I can't let you look like a tramp in front of someone you're crazy over."

"Yeah." Kaoru was resting on a chair in front of the fitting room, feet up on another chair. "If this one bombs, at least it won't be your fault."

"That won't happen!" Misao declared. "Aoshi's different." And she flounced back into her changing room.

"Make sure you bring bus fare," Kaoru called after her.

"Are you still hung up on that?" Megumi was back with alternate sizes.

Three boyfriends ago, Misao had gotten stranded at a restaurant. Her date turned out to have several other female girlfriends, two of which were at the restaurant with _their_ dates. There had been a spectacular four-way argument that shattered a tableful of china and led to Misao storming out into the rain.

Unfortunately, her cell phone had no signal and she didn't have enough for cab fare. With only 50 cents and some credit cards to her name, she'd had to use a pay phone to call for a ride.

"Yes, I'm still hung up on it. I was asleep. It took me half an hour to get there. And it was raining."

"Well, this one won't be like that." Misao was out again, this time in something red.

"That one makes your face look blotchy." Megumi handed Misao the pile of alternate sizes. "Try these- then we're off to our next stop."

Once out of the store, (none of the alternates had fit correctly), Megumi turned to Kaoru. "So what did you do to Kenshin? He looked quite shaken when he came back."

"I shoved him into a fence." Kaoru said, offhandedly.

"What?" Misao shrieked, almost dropping her purse.

"You know- the shaky black metal one."

"Why?" said Megumi. "He seemed quite nice when Sano and I were talking to him. He's worked with Katsu for years, he holds down a steady job; the red hair is even natural."

"I don't want to shack up with someone I met two days ago in a bar!"

"And why not?" asked Misao. "You can meet nice people there. After all, I met Aoshi there!"

"You've known the man for two days."

"And already I know how perfect he is."

"He could be a serial killer."

"We would have heard about a bunch of serial murders, Kaoru. You need to live a little."

"And hooking up with someone I met on Friday would be living?"

"This is it," Megumi interrupted, for the second time that trip. "Just look for two-piece things here- the dresses are awful."

"I had a friend once," Kaoru intoned. "She was tall, and jeans and t-shirts. But then the mall ate her, and she never got back to her proofreading job again."

"Really?" Misao asked. "I had a friend who couldn't find a dress for her hot date because another friend was _tired._"

"What happened?" Megumi asked.

"My friend's friend died." Misao said. "People say my friend killed her, but they have only circumstantial evidence."

"Misao!"

"How do I look?"

"I think I just lost some IQ points. In a bad way."

"This one?"

"Bad cosplay."

"Ta-da!"

"Maybe in a different size."

"Here."

"…no."

"How about this?"

"That's Megumi, all right… but it makes you look tiny."

After Misao's rumbling stomach made itself known, they adjourned to the food court. Once the usual arguments about food had died down ("You can't live on French fries, Kaoru! You need protein!"), the topic drifted once more to boyfriends.

"We're meeting with a wedding planner. We decided that after years of dancing around each other, a long engagement wasn't necessary." Megumi said, between delicate bites of Chinese food.

"That's exciting."

"Yes. It's going to be a traditional wedding- in a church and everything."

"What about colors?"

"White dress for me, red for the bridesmaids."

"Megumi- red makes me look like a lobster. You said so earlier."

For the first time that day, Megumi looked unsure. "Blue? Purple?"

"I thought you'd have something like this all planned out already." Kaoru said, surprised.

"Well, we're working on it." Megumi set down her chopsticks, and _fidgeted_ with them. "I was just going to go for a civil service, but Sano wanted the entire church thing."

"You're being domesticated!" Misao crowed.

"No!"

Misao found her dress at the next store.

"It's this one," Megmi said, "very definitely." All Kaoru could say about it was that it was black, with shiny black beading not in the shape of a butterfly. Megumi liked it, and after hours of shopping, that was what counted.

"Now, we can go look for shoes, or—" Megumi's cell phone went off.

"Yes. Yes. Right. I'll be over." She flipped it shut. "Someone's having a reaction, and Sano knows the person. I have to be over there- I'm going to drop you at Kaoru's, ok?" With her "doctor face", as Misao called it, in place, Megumi was a force of nature. They were back in the Arizona section of the parking garage and down the ramp in less than five minutes, and abandoned in front of Kaoru's house only twelve minutes after that.

"So is that his house?" Misao had pulled Kaoru's curtains aside, staring at the ugly house on the other corner.

"Misao! Get away from the window!" Kaoru screeched.

"Geez, keep your shirt on," Misao griped, but re-closed the curtains. "I was just curious to see where your red-headed bombshell lived."

"He's not— "

"I know, raccoon girl." She giggled. "I just like to see you animated about something."

"Mou."

"I really think there's something there, Kaoru. You didn't push _him_ into a fence, after all. …Kaoru? …how about some dinner, before you send me back?"

Kaoru finally spoke. "As long as you make it."

"I certainly wasn't going to let you set anything on fire again." Misao riposited, forcibly cheerful. "But I may let you hand me things." Kaoru, Misao decided, needed to get over her boyfriend complex. And Kenshin, if approached properly, seemed just the tool to do it.

When Kaoru got home from work on Tuesday, there was a surprise waiting for her in the mail. Usually, all she got was junk mail, and the occasional bill. But this--

The envelope was square, with the address written in precise italic calligraphy. "To Miss Kaoru Kamiya", and her address. The return address was left blank.

She flipped it over. It had been sealed with an imprinted blob of red wax, but she couldn't red the imprint. And it was postmarked locally.

After holding it to her ear to make sure it wasn't ticking, she slit open the side.

It was a card, with a delicate Celtic knot on the cover. On the inside it had three words and a signature. "I'm very sorry. Kenshin Himura."

"I'm not in the mood for you, playboy," she hissed at the card, and immediately dropped it in the shredder.

She was about to follow it with the envelope, but then the guilt hit her. It _had_ been nice of him to spend 39 cents to send her an apology, and she _had_ pushed him into a fence. Plus the calligraphy was very elegant.

When Sylvia came home after work, she noticed something was different. Mounted on a white card, propped up on the kitchen windowsill, was a lovely piece of calligraphy. Sylvia picked it up. "Kaoru Kamiya… I wonder if she's taking a class…?"

Wednesday. Kaoru picked the mail off the mat, and took it to the table to sort. Everything was for Sylvia—except for another square card. She considered shredding it, but was too curious.

Inside was another card, this one with a woodblock print of a heron. "Is there anything I can do?" the lovely calligraphy asked.

_Leave me alone, maybe_, Kaoru thought. She flipped the card over. On the back was another message. "I just want to help."

This card she consigned to the shredder. "He needs to mind his own business." Still, _he_ had never sent her cards of apology for something he wasn't responsible for… That made it 78 cents Kenshin had spent on her, plus the time spent on a handmade card.

If this went on for much longer, she wouldn't exactly _owe_ him, but… it made her feel awkward.

She picked the red wax seal off the back, and shredded the envelope as well. "Take _that_, Kenshin Himura!"

Thursday. Work had been awful, since her supervisor was impressing his supervisor by micromanaging his proofreaders. She staggered in through the front door and almost tripped over a small package that had been dropped through her mail slot.

Curious, she picked it up. It was addressed in the same manner as the square envelopes, with the added bonus of "Fragile! Chocolate!"

Too tired to care where it was from, Kaoru ripped into the wrapper and pulled out the first bar of "Endangered Species" milk chocolate. She was melting the third square when it occurred to her that there should be a note to go with it.

Not that she was curious, of course… It wouldn't do to leave brown paper littering her living room, not at all!

After changing into something more comfortable and sorting through the rest of the mail, (as well as having another piece of chocolate) she faced the folded piece of watermarked notepaper.

"Kaoru, I hope you like chocolate. I wasn't sure… so if you don't, feel free to hit me up for something else." (here he added a little smily face.) "Anyway, I got you both milk and dark, since I didn't think you would appreciate me going behind your back to ask your friends. Personally, I think white chocolate is unhealthy, so there isn't any included.

I hope this begins to make up for the events of Saturday (for which I still feel guilty; I don't like seeing women upset). I'd like for us to get along, since our paths are likely to cross quite often in the future.

Wishing you all the best, Kenshin Himura."

"That wuss," she muttered. "He doesn't like upset women because it ruins his playerimage." She took another piece of milk chocolate, and put the note onto her desk.

Friday. She had just shut the back door when the phone began to ring. Hurriedly dropping her messenger bag and stepping into her slippers, she got to it just before it was picked up by the answering machine.

"Hello?"

"Kaoru! I'm glad you're home."

"What's up, weasel girl?"

"I'm nervous. And Megumi isn't home to complain to, so I called you up."

"I'm flattered." Kaoru began peeling off her panty hose. "So what's the plan?"

"I've got to be there early early. But if you guys can come early too, then I can sit with you and not have any trouble."

"Ok." Kaoru rolled the hose up and shrugged out of her jacket, setting it on the couch next to her. "That shouldn't be a problem."

"And if something does happen, Megumi can shoot him down."

"Right."

"And then…" Misao went on in a similar nervous vein for ten minutes. Kaoru only had to make the occasional sound of agreement, and used the time to change all the way into normal clothes, put away her papers, and put a frozen pizza into the oven. (She was careful to set both the oven timer and the microwave timer, just in case she didn't hear one of them go off.)

"Oh! Aoshi's on the other line!" Misao squealed. "Sorry to throw you over; can you tell Megumi the plan?"

"Sure." But Misao had already rung off. Kaoru put the phone back on the cradle, and caught sight of the pile of mail on the floor.

She rushed over. It wasn't that she wanted another Kenshin letter. The bank statement might be coming, and she could finally balance her checkbook. Exactly. Nothing to do with nice stationary whatsoever.

But she picked the square card out of the pile first. "To Miss Kaoru Kamiya…"

**Easy Review Options:  
**_Just Copy And Paste!_ Or even just write the single letter.  
A. Usually I'd hit 'back' now, but I'm reviewing because I'm nice.  
B. More action! More fluff! I thought this was a romance!  
C. …took you long enough, sheesh.  
D. Typo: " "  
E. zOMG! What will happen next? I have to know NOW!

Got an idea for a new option? Want to read the omake? Leave a review and tell me!


	5. Epic Battle

A disclaimer, in the tradition of fanfiction writers everywhere: I do not own the rights to Rurouni Kenshin, shag carpeting, hospitals, Blockbuster video/s, or the TV show COPS. I am using them without permission.

Notes: Yeah, I got nothin'. Except perhaps a burning desire to finish writing this. It's difficult, fan-fictioning. I had no idea. Also the formatting is weird.

**Night Out Chapter 5:** Epic Battles

OR

_"Weird Al Yankovic's head explodes in this! You'll love it."_

No matter how many of her buttons Kenshin had inadvertently pushed, he hadn't meant anything by it.

It wasn't like he was a cruel scumbag like... that other guy. He-Who-Will-Not-Be-Mentioned.

And he did have excellent calligraphy skills, and had given her chocolate.

Her guilt eventually prodded her to her desk, where she wrote a letter... on one of the Japanese cards she usually saved for special occasions.

Dear kenshin.

No.

Kenshin.

Better.

Kenshin,

I apologize for pushing you

No, not that either.

Mr. Himura,

Yes, that was more like it.

Mr. Himura,

please accept my sincere apologies for my rude behavior the other day. I had no cause to shriek and shove you into-

Not quite.

I had no cause to upset you into the-

I had no good reason to push you into that fence. Except that I was scared because I-

No.

I hope you are not injured. I also hope we can get along with each other, at least for the sake of our mutual friends.

Sincerely, Kaoru Kamiya.

She threw on a bathrobe and dashed across the intersection and popped the note into his mailbox.

She almost went back for it half an hour later, but by that time her bed had warmed up. And the night was cold.

She set her alarm for 9:00 and set about getting to sleep.

* * *

Deedle beedle beep! Deedle beedle beep!

That sound was her phone. Still three-quarters-asleep, she scrabbled it off of her nightstand and pushed the talk button.

"Guh?"

"I'm nervous about my black belt test! It's today!" That shriek was definitely Misao.

"Eh?" Kaoru rubbed her eyes and looked around. Evidently she shouldn't have bothered with the alarm, since it was 8:45 in the morning. Too early.

"Auugh, I'm gonna die." A deep breath. And then-

"It's gonna be awesome! I'm gonna take out the whole dojo!"

"What-"

"And then we can talk about Kenshin, OK?"

"Sure."

"Thanks for the encouragement! I love ya! See you at noon!"

"Ugh." Kaoru flopped back in bed, and pulled the pillow over her head. So much concentrated hyperness. Some minutes passed, while her brain slowly revved up to cruising speed.

Kenshin. Misao had said something about Kenshin. Talking about Kenshin. Kenshin-

Kaoru grabbed the phone off the table and redialed for Misao.

"Misao! Where did you hear about Kenshin?"

Somehow, in the shuffle of finding the perfect date dress, Misao had missed Megumi's comment about the fence. So when Megumi had called Misao to let her know that Sano had told her that Kenshin had told him he had received a letter, well... weasel-girl had to hear all about it.

"She told me not to call you until you were awake, but then I was nervous so I forgot. Anyway, you get up early for work so it's fine."

"It's not -"

"We have to talk about Kenshin! I can't believe you're sending him letters."

"I'm not-"

"Wait - don't say anything. I'm calling Megumi. Wait a minute."

There was a beep, and Misao's voice came again from the phone in Kaoru's hand.

"So! Megumi told me all about it!"

"All about what?"

"All about what you did to Kenshin!" that was Megumi.

"What I did?"

"Eeeee!" that screech was Misao. "It must have been great! Tell me your side!"

"Shut up for a second, and maybe she will."

"That was a week ago! Why now? How did you guys know?"

"Tuh." An irritated sound from Megumi. "I know because Kenshin came back in looking a little bit ...messy. I assumed you'd pushed him into the fence, because he had some pine needles on his pants. But what we want are the details. Did anything happen to cause the fence? Was there making out? Some tongue?"

"Megumi!"

"It's a valid question."

"Shut up, Misao. No, there was nothing like that at all."

"None at all? I guess he was only gone for a minute."

"True, true. Unless he was a minute man, she could have-"

"SHUT UP! There was no... nothing. I pushed him into the fence, okay?"

"Just into the fence?"

"Is this for some new position I'm not familiar with?"

"No! He wouldn't shut up! He wouldn't stop! I thought he was going to- to- So I pushed him into the fence, okay?"

"But you're sending him letters!"

"I only sent one letter! One!

"Wait, how did you find about about that letter anyway?"

"Sano went to pick up Kenshin, who picked up his mail! And there was a letter from you!"

"Omigod."

"It must be great! So when's your first date?"

"There is NO date, Misao. I was just sending him a letter to pay him back for sending me that chocolate."

"Chocolate?"

"What kind?"

"Just dark and milk."

"How did he know you love chocolate?"

"He guessed. It's not that special, Megumi. All girls like chocolate."

There was a silence on the end of the phone.

"He got you CHOCOLATE! It must be LOVE!"

Kaoru hung up.

* * *

Kaoru had been expecting something traditional from a dojo. Maybe some monks, or at least some incense.

Misao's dojo looked more like a scuzzy car dealership. The door was propped open with a large chunk of wood, and the hall was covered in brown shag carpet. The open area beyond had a long bench on one side, some punching bags on the other side, and a large canvas expanse in the middle.

It was populated by a small group of people in dark karate clothes. Misao detached herself from the group and bounced her way over. "Hi Kaoru! Megumi's not with you, is she? Augh, I'm nervous nervous nervous. Take a seat on the bench. It's right behind you. Right behind you right behind you, yeah!"

Kaoru put a hand on Misao's shoulder. The shorter girl was actually vibrating with nervous energy. "You're going to be fine. Okay? Please breathe."

Misao took a big gasp.

"No, slower. In... and out... In... and hold..." Her attempts to guide Misao went unregarded because at that point Megumi swept her way in.

"Misao!"

"Megumi! I'm soooo nervous! Nervous. Take a seat on the bench with Kaoru, kay? OK? Oh, they're waving me over! Augh, I'm gonna die!"

Megumi and Kaoru exchanged glances.

'"You'll be fine, weasel-girl."

"Kick their asses."

For the first few fights, Misao did indeed "kick their asses." Megumi quickly grew bored with the spectacle and began to question Kaoru.

"So, you and Kenshin?"

Kaoru, for her part, tried to watch the fights very very carefully.

"Was it the spiky iron one?"

"Was it the wooden one?"

"Did you push him into just once fence?"

Kaoru took a deep breath in, and exhaled in a fruitless search for inner peace. "Did you see that kick, Megumi? It was pretty awesome."

"Or maybe those new dwarf bushes?"

"Megumi, I really don't want to talk about it."

"But we're friends, Kaoru. Friends talk to each other."

"Shh- Misao's fighting that guy she hates."

It was indeed that guy Misao hated. And the fight between them was brutal and short. As far as Kaoru could see, it started out with a few passes of kicks, then he got Misao in an arm bar and a leg sweep. The difference in their heights was so great that Misao flew through the air. She landed with a huge bam! and rolled to her feet. There was a pause, then both fighters faced off again. They clashed - this time he took the worst of it - blood from his nose was streaming down his face.

Megumi twitched beside Kaoru, almost standing up. Kaoru put her hand on Megumi's shoulder. "He'll be fine. You're not here as a doctor. And he's an asshole."

On the mat, the other guy was clutching a large roll of toilet tissue to his bleeding nose. Misao had been thrown awkwardly and was rubbing her right arm. There was a small frown on her face. She shook it out-and froze.

"Misao!" Megumi called. "Is your arm ok?"

"I don't know. It hurts."

Megumi was off her bench like a shot, urging Misao to stay down.

"Can you pull up your sleeve?

Misao made a motion to - then winced and shook her head.

"Can you bend your fingers?"

Misao's face scrunched, but her fingers slowly bent, then straightened.

"I want to look at it. Kaoru!"

"Here!" Kaoru had followed Megumi and was standing awkwardly behind Misao.

"Help her get this off."

They carefully pulled Misao's gi down off her shoulder and delicately brought the arm back out of the large sleeve.

Her arm was a bit swollen right above the wrist. Megumi did some kind of medical manouvering that made Misao wince some more. Kaoru patted Misao on the head. "You're a trooper, weasel-girl."

"I think it's just a fracture," Megumi decided. "Does anyone have a magazine? And some kind of tape?"

Both were provided, and Megumi carefully wrapped Misao's arm in two magazines, then taped them down to immobilize it.

"I'm taking her to the hospital for an x-ray."

"What? No!" Misao stood up. "I need to stay here and test!"

"Misao." Misao's sensei had a lovely deep voice, Kaoru decided. He could do those movie voice-overs. "You can test another day. I will not allow you to test with a broken arm."

"But it's immobilized! It's fine!"

"Go."

* * *

Misao wanted to take her own car, but Kaoru insisted on driving. Megumi sat in the back seat, hovering. "Misao, if there's even a twinge, let me know. Kaoru! Drive more smoothly!"

They went to Urgent Care, since Megumi had called ahead for an appointment.

The doctor there sent Misao in for an X-ray, looked at them, and said "yep, it's a fracture."

The longest part of the whole experience was Misao picking a color for her cast.

"I don't want it to clash with my dress. Why don't they have black?"

Kaoru suggested the hot pink, but Megumi vetoed it. "Hot pink clashes with everything. Aoshi doesn't seem like a hot pink kind of guy."

She finally settled on blue, after rejecting red, green, and purple.

On the way back to the dojo to pick up the cars, she wouldn't leave it alone.

"Kaoru?"

"Yes?"

"Should I have gotten the purple?"

"It's fine, Misao."

"I just think the purple might have been better. And what if Aoshi doesn't like blue?"

"I don't think he'll care what color it is."

"But what if we're on his couch, and the cast gets in the way? It's kind of hard. And rough."

"I don't think Aoshi will mind."

"But what if I want to - and then I can't get my hand quite around to - and then - and he leaves?"

Kaoru couldn't stop her blush. Fortunately, Megumi was there to pick up her slack.

"If he's normal, he won't care."

"And what if I'm bruised?"

"Misao. You know men only want one thing - and that's naked women. You're a woman, right?"

"Yes..."

"And you're going to get naked, right?"

"Yes!"

"Then obviously there's no problem."

"But what if there IS-"

Kaoru was relieved when they got back to the dojo parking lot.

They had another argument at the dojo. Misao wanted to go in and continue her black belt test. Megumi absolutely vetoed that idea, stating that it was a "harebrained thing to do".

Misao claimed that real ninjas "got up and got going, even if they had broken heads!"

Then Megumi pointed out that Misao could do herself actual, permanent damage, and regaled them all with disgusting horror stories about spiral fractures.

Misao, perhaps grossed out at the thought of bone shards spraying around the room, finally conceded to test when the cast was off... as long as she got to drive herself home AND got to pick out one of the movies all by herself.

Megumi conceded that that was a good compromise, i.e. no one got what they wanted.

Kaoru watched as Misao drove off... and Megumi trailed her like something out of COPS. Megumi was so over-protective about physical injuries... it was a surprise she was so snoopy about mental injuries. Like the Kenshin thing. Even if there wasn't really a Kenshin thing, more of a Gohei thing.

Kaoru had been interested in Gohei, at one time. They had had a lot in common: interest in kendo, skill in iaido, hanging around in the dojo all the time... And even though his broken finger grossed her out at first, she had gotten used to it. Everything had been going fine, and they were planning to move in together. And then everything had gone wrong. Kaoru was shaking her head over the foolishness of youth when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Kaoru! Where are you? We're at Blockbuster. If you don't come RIGHT NOW we'll choose scary movies like Ring and Grudge and you'll be sorry!"

"Ok! I'm coming. Anything but horror movies."

Kaoru was able to stop them from getting real horror movies, but did get stuck with "Scary Movie."

"It's not actually scary, Kaoru! It's a parody. Even you can't be THAT much of a wuss."

So of course she held out for the most brainless comedy she could think of: Spy Hard.

"Weird Al Yankovic's head explodes in this, Megumi! You'll love it. Or else."

Misao loaded herself down with treats - or at least, a bag of popcorn, which was all Megumi would let her carry. Kaoru was stuck carrying the rest, while Megumi busted out the credit card.

Since Misao had broken her arm, and they wanted her to do as little travelling as possible, they drove next to her apartment. All the lights were on.

This was suspicious. Misao lived by herself, in a classic studio with exposed pipes and radiators. She would never leave lights on and waste energy. That meant there was someone else in her apartment. Kaoru didn't even consider the thought of a robber - they probably would be using flashlights.

"Misao? Who's visiting?"

"Oh... nobody important." She giggled nervously.

"It's Aoshi, isn't it?"

"Nope!" More giggles.

"It IS Aoshi!"

"It's not!"

Megumi pushed both of them towards the front door. "If you don't get a move on, we'll freeze out here, and you'll never find out."

"You'll - wait! You know too?"

"Just keep walking, Kaoru."

A terrible suspicion was creeping over her. They couldn't have - could they? It was supposed to be girl time!

And then Misao had the door open, and all Kaoru's worst fears came true.

Kenshin was cooking something on Misao's stove!

**Easy Review Options:**

_Just Copy And Paste!_ Or even just write the single letter.

A. You are a terrible person, and should be ashamed of yourself for waiting all this time. Just let it die already.

B. How could you end it on a cliffhanger after all the time you made us wait? And also, be more specific than karate clothes. And the format - what happened with that?

C. You made a mistake here: " "

D. At least it's an update.

E. I LIKED IT AND IF YOU LEAVE ME HANGING AGAIN THERE WILL BE BLOOD.


End file.
